Different But Same
Show Our Identity
On Saturday night, Milan opened their Serie A calendar by welcoming Torino led by their new coach, Paolo Vanoli to the San Siro in front of a sellout crowd brimming with enthusiasm after the successful preseason Paulo Fonseca had in the tour of the USA.
Within minutes of the game it was clear the folk in attendance were not going to see the quick 1-2 passes, triangles, possession and work rate they saw previously only 10 days earlier. This was the game were Fonseca stated “we need to show our identity”, and what we witnessed was a team still suffering from the weak mentality driven into them by the now departed coach Stefano Pioli.
With the returning starters we expected the style of play Fonseca is trying to implement in the preseason to show progress on the field but it was the opposite. Players again were constantly holding onto the ball (Leao), trying to be individuals (RLC), caught in possession (Pulisic), caught out of position (Calabria, Bennacer…take your pick). The difference in movement, work rate etc the youth players who were given chances in the US to this lineup was night and day and it showed that they were morre flexible to adapt to Fonseca’s style than our 1st team.
Starters Fail To Impress
Granted it was the first game of the season, but Fonseca’s choices of lineup were somewhat questionable even with some returning players not match fit. Saelemaekers, despite having a positive preseason is not a LB and nor should he be placed in that position. Fonseca and his team knew Theo was not going to play from the start all week, so there was the choice to call up Bartesaghi or Jiminez from the Milan Futuro team but confusingly he opted to play Alexis. On the right flank it was even worse, with our captain, Davide Calabria back to his old tricks of being caught frequently out of position, being beat by his man way too easily on many occasions. With both flanks exposed by player abilities it was no surprise that our defensive deficiencies again were all too clear to see with Tomori and notably Malik Thiaw having horrendous errors and lapses of judgement.
The protection in the front of the defence was no better, with Bennacer looking very leggy and is clearly not the player we knew since his awful knee injuries. With the acquisition of Youssouf Fofana, the Algerians time at Milan may be coming to and end, which would be the best outcome for both parties. RLC on all too many occasions when in possession looked to drive forward with his power but often lost the ball, and off the ball, given his strength was very poor in covering the middle of the park.
The Harmonious String Quartet
Which then brings us to the front 4. Preseason gave us a glimpse of what could be with Milan. Quick movement, 1-2’s around the box and opening teams up with clinical passing. Chukuwueze and Pulisic despite good promise against Manchester City and Real Madrid respectively, were way below the standard we expect from them and the returning Leao again showed why fans are so divided by him. This attack should be moving the ball quickly and utilising our pace and technical ability to unlock teams but again as soon as we faced any resistance from Torino we looked lost on ideas and reverted back to moving the ball out wide to Leao only for him to run into defenders or lobbing in a hopeful cross.
This front four will only work if Fonseca gets them to work for the team. None of the front 4 offered anything of note in the game, and time and time again failed to track back to help their teammates. If they want to all play together then they have to sacrifice themselves for the team and work just as hard to recover the ball when Milan don’t have it, otherwise this team, irrelevant of new players will be unbalanced and be exposed just as Pioli experienced. Of the front four, I feel Leao will be the most affected by the change in role and could either lead to him being the player we all think he can be, or he will become a square peg in a round hole.
Okafor & Morata Shine
Fonseca looked like his first Seria A game with Milan was heading to a loss but the inclusion of Theo, Reijnders, Morata and Okafor saved his blushes. Morata made an immediate impact, making a nuisance of himself and linking up our play and bagged him an opportunistic goal from a shot come cross by Reijnders. But it was once again Okafor who saved Milan with and excellent volley finish inside the box from a Musah cross.
It is only the first game but its clear Fonseca has work to do and there will be significant changes in the starting lineup for this weekend’s game at Parma. Most likely we will see changes at the back with Saelemaekers, Calabria, and Thiaw making way for new signings Emerson Royal, Strahinja Pavlovic and Theo Hernandez. I’d expect Bennacer and RLC to be dropped in favour of Musah who came in an had an energetic display and also be paired with Reijnders. The front four, given Morata is out injured will probably be the same with Okafor coming in for the injured Morata.
Onwards we go.
Forza Milan
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